COURSE PLAN METHODOLOGY: COURSE PLAN PETER RABBIT by Beatrix Potter is represented by the abbreviation. Each weekly assignment is summarized in the first lines of the week s daily course plan. The specific daily assignments are outlined in the following lines indicated by the 1, 2, 3 and 4 abbreviations. The chapter study questions, chapter vocabulary and glossary are located in the Elementary Literature Study Question booklets available for purchase from. Answers should be given in complete written or oral sentences. We suggest reading the weekly written assignment to the student at the beginning of the week. The student should write the assignment down on a note card (to be used as a bookmark) so that he can think about the assignment as he reads. The written assignments are suggested to be started on Thursday after the reading is done and completed by the following Monday. As the teacher, be sure to review the exam now to ensure all concepts are covered with your student as he reads the book. was published in 1902. The book is a compilation of short stories about different woodland animals and they lessons they learn in the world around them. While some of the characters are mentioned in more than one story, there is no single plot holding the stories together. Therefore, they should be approached as separate stories. Characters: : a young rabbit who gets in trouble when he doesn t listen to his mother. Squirrel Nutkin: an impertinent young squirrel who loses half of his tail because of his poor treatment of an owl. Benjamin Bunny: Peter s cousin, who convinces him to go back into the garden and who gets in trouble with his father for doing so. Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca: two mischievous mice. Mrs. Tiggy-winkle: a hedgehog who washes the clothes of all of the animals who live around her. Mr. Jeremy Fisher: a frog who tries to go fishing, but who ends up being pulled underwater by a large fish. Mittens, Tom Kitten, Moppet: Three little kittens who lose their nice clothes to some ducks because they didn t listen to their mother. Jemima Puddle-duck: a naïve duck who wants to hatch her own eggs. She gets tricked by a fox and almost becomes his dinner. Flopsy Bunnies: The little bunnies of Benjamin Rabbit and Flopsy. They are captured by Mr. McGregor and have to be rescued by their parents. Ginger and Pickles: A tom-cat and a terrier who own a store where many people buy things on credit and the store eventually fails. Mrs. Tittlemouse: a tiny mouse who has a huge house with many rooms that are hard to keep clean and free of unwanted visitors. Timmy Tiptoes: a squirrels who works hard with his wife to gather nuts to store up for the winter. He becomes trapped in a tree and is unable to get out until a storm helps him by blowing off the top part of the tree. PC1
COURSE PLAN Notes WEEK 1 Book Weekly Breakdown Goals and Notes for the Week The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, The Tale of Benjamin Bunny Review the vocabulary words with the student prior to reading. If any are unfamiliar, have the student look up the vocabulary words in the glossary. You may want to have the student write each one in a sentence. Study questions may be completed as the student reads or at the end of the week when reading has been completed. Student Daily Assignments Parent Daily Guidelines 1 2 3 The Tale of Peter Rabbit The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin The Tale of Benjamin Bunny Have the student read The Tale of and answer Study Questions. Peter is one of four little bunnies who live with their mother under a tree. Their mother leaves to run errands and warns the bunnies not to go into Mr. McGregor s garden, but the temptation is too strong for Peter and he goes into the garden. Peter loses his shoes and jacket in his effort to evade being captured by Mr. McGregor. Eventually, Peter escapes, but he doesn t feel well that night and doesn t have the tasty dinner his siblings do. Have the student read The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin and answer Study Questions. Nutkin and the other squirrels go every day to Owl Island to gather nuts. Each day, they bring an offering to the old owl, Old Brown, who lives there. The only squirrel who doesn t do this is Nutkin; instead, he makes riddles to Old Brown every day and doesn t help gather the nuts. On the last day, Saturday, Nutkin tells a riddle and then tries to attack Old Brown on his head! The owl grabs him and brings him into his house in order to skin him, but Nutkin pulls so hard that his tail breaks in two and he escapes out the attic window. Have the student read The Tale of Benjamin Bunny and answer Study Questions. Benjamin Bunny, the cousin of, came to visit Peter one day. Peter looked sad and only had on a handkerchief because his clothes were now part of the scarecrow in Mr. McGregor s garden. Even though Peter doesn t want to, Benjamin convinces him to go down the pear tree and into the garden to get his clothes. After, they decide to take some onions with them for Peter s mother. Peter is very nervous and keeps thinking he hears Mr. McGregor, even though Mr. McGregor PC2
COURSE PLAN 4 Glossary Sentences Study Questions Other: Written Assignment Assignments and his wife went out for the whole day. While taking the onions in the handkerchief, Peter and Benjamin get trapped under a basket with a cat sitting on it for five hours. Finally, Old Benjamin Bunny, Benjamin s father, scares the cat away and locks her in the greenhouse. He gets mad at his son and brings his nephew home to his mother. Have the student complete the written assignment, due Monday. : Each of the stories this week focus on the idea of listening to and respecting your elders. Choose one of the characters from this week and explain how they did not listen to or respect their elders and describe what happens to them because of their actions. Also, describe the lesson they learn and when they learn it. Week 1 Grade Book Include (A) Points Earned (B) Possible Points A/B x100 =% (C) Week 1 Average Add up column C & divide by number of included assignments = % PC3
COURSE PLAN Notes WEEK 2 Book Weekly Breakdown Goals and Notes for the Week The Tale of Two Bad Mice, The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-wiggle, The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher Review the vocabulary words with the student prior to reading. If any are unfamiliar, have the student look up the vocabulary words in the glossary. You may want to have the student write each one in a sentence. Study questions may be completed as the student reads or at the end of the week when reading has been completed. Student Daily Assignments Parent Daily Guidelines 1 2 3 4 The Tale of Two Bad Mice The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-wiggle The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher Written Assignment Have the student read The Tale of Two Bad Mice and answer Study Questions. Two mice, Tom Thumb and his wife Hunca Munca, find that they can get inside of a doll house. They try to eat the lovely-looking food, but they soon realize it is fake and get very angry. The mice take some of the doll furniture to their home and throw doll clothes all over the place. But, they give the dolls some money they find near the fireplace and Hunca Munca sweeps the dolls house every morning. Have the student read The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-wiggle and answer Study Questions. Lucie is a little girl who is always losing her pocket handkerchiefs. One day she seems something on the hill near her house and goes to investigate. She sees a small door and, when she goes in, an even smaller washer-woman named Mrs. Tiggy-winkle. Mrs. Tiggy-winkle cleans all of the clothes for the animals who live nearby and she has Lucie s handkerchiefs as well. They deliver all of the clean clothing on their way down the hill and then Mrs. Tiggy-winkle turns into a hedgehog as she sprints back up the hill. Have the student read The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher and answer Study Questions. Mr. Jeremy Fisher is a frog who lives near a pond. He decides to go fishing to catch some dinner for his friends. But, instead of him catching a fish, a fish catches him! The fish spits him out, but Mr. Jeremy Fisher decides he is probably never going fishing again. His friends still come over for dinner, but they don t have fish. Have the student complete the written assignment, due Monday. : In The Tale of the Two Bad Mice, the mice ransack and damage the doll house and many of the PC4
COURSE PLAN Glossary Sentences Study Questions Other: Assignments dolls belongings; they even take some of the furniture for their own use. At the end of the story, the author tells us it was okay for them to do this because they paid the dolls with some money they found on the floor and Hunca Munca sweeps the inside of the dollhouse every morning before anyone is awake. Do you think what the mice did was right or wrong? Why? Do you think the money and sweeping make up for what they did or not? Why? Week 2 Grade Book Include (A) Points Earned (B) Possible Points A/B x100 =% (C) Week 2 Average Add up column C & divide by number of included assignments = % PC5
COURSE PLAN Notes WEEK 3 Book Weekly Breakdown Goals and Notes for the Week The Tale of Tom Kitten, The Tale of Jemima Puddle-duck, The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies Review the vocabulary words with the student prior to reading. If any are unfamiliar, have the student look up the vocabulary words in the glossary. You may want to have the student write each one in a sentence. Study questions may be completed as the student reads or at the end of the week when reading has been completed. Student Daily Assignments Parent Daily Guidelines 1 2 3 The Tale of Tom Kitten The Tale of Jemima Puddleduck The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies Have the student read The Tale of Tom Kitten and answer Study Questions. One day, Tom Kitten and his sisters, Mittens and Moppet, were dressed by their mother, Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit, in their finest clothes. She was having important visitors over and wanted to impress them with her well-dressed children. She sent the kittens outside to play while she finished getting ready. While they were outside, the kittens all lost their clothes when they tried to climb a wall. Then, three puddle-ducks took their clothes and put them on and wore them all the way to the pond. When Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit saw that her children were without clothes, she became very upset and locked them in their room upstairs while she had her company over for tea. Have the student read The Tale of Jemima Puddle-duck and answer Study Questions. The farmer s wife doesn t let Jemima Puddle-duck hatch her own eggs and, instead, has a hen sit on them. This bothers Jemima and she decides to find a place in the woods for her nest. She meets a fox who lets her build a nest in his shed. They day before she s to sit on her eggs, he invites her for a dinner and asks her to bring onions and herbs. Secretly, he s planning on eating Jemima. Luckily, Jemima told her story to a collie who, along with some foxhounds, rescues her. The foxhounds eat the eggs before they can be stopped and Jemima goes home in tears. Have the student read The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies and answer Study Questions. Benjamin Bunny married his cousin, Flopsy, when they were older. One day, Benjamin and his little bunny children all went down to Mr. McGregor s rubbish heap to find something to eat. They all gorged themselves on lettuce PC6
COURSE PLAN 4 Glossary Sentences Study Questions Other: Written Assignment and fell asleep. Mrs. Tittlemouse came by and woke up Benjamin Bunny. But, Mr. McGregor threw some grass clippings on the bunny children by accident and picked up all of the little bunnies and put them in a sack. Flopsy came to look for her family and she and Benjamin were in a panic that they couldn t get the sack open. Mrs. Tittlemouse nibbled a hole in the corner and they were able to get the bunnies out and replaced them in the sack with rotten vegetables. All of the bunnies watched while Mr. McGregor and his wife thought they were going to get bunnies, but got rotten vegetables instead. Have the student complete the written assignment, due Monday. : In The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies, the young rabbits are captured by Mr. McGregor and their parents have to come and save them. Tell about a time when you were really stuck and your parents how to help you like the bunnies parents had to help them. Week 3 Grade Book Assignments Include (A) Points Earned (B) Possible Points A/B x100 =% (C) Week 3 Average Add up column C & divide by number of included assignments = % PC7
COURSE PLAN Notes WEEK 4 Book Weekly Breakdown Goals and Notes for the Week Ginger and Pickles, The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse, The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes Review the vocabulary words with the student prior to reading. If any are unfamiliar, have the student look up the vocabulary words in the glossary. You may want to have the student write each one in a sentence. Study questions may be completed as the student reads or at the end of the week when reading has been completed. Student Daily Assignments Parent Daily Guidelines 1 2 3 Ginger and Pickles The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes Have the student read Ginger and Pickles and answer Study Questions. A cat named Ginger and a terrier named Pickles own a shop together. They allow their customers to purchase with credit and no one ever pays them. So, they close up shop. Now, no one has a place to go to except to Tabitha Twitchit s, but she doesn t take credit and she raised her prices. Eventually, other people open up shops that don t do very well. Finally, Sally Henny-penny opened a shop that seemed to have a little something for everyone. Have the student read The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse and answer Study Questions. Mrs. Tittlemouse is a very clean mouse who spends most of her time tidying up her house from the welcome and unwelcome visitors who come to see her. One day, she finds that there are bees hiding in her house. Mr. Jackson, a frog, comes by uninvited because he smelled the honey from the bees. While he goes to get the honey from the bees, Mrs. Tittlemouse locks herself in another room because she was so worried about getting stung by the bees. When she came out, everyone was gone, but her house was a mess. She decided to have a spring cleaning, which lasted for quite a while. When she was done, she had a party with some other mice. Have the student read The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes and answer Study Questions. Timmy and Goody Tiptoes are squirrels that live in a wood. They set out to find nuts to store for the winter. They story the nuts in tree stumps and down a hole in a tree that once belonged to a woodpecker. Timmy thinks this is an excellent plan, but Goody isn t sure how they will get the nuts out. Later, some birds fly by calling, Who s been digging up my nuts? PC8
COURSE PLAN 4 Glossary Sentences Study Questions Other: Written Assignment Assignments over and over. The other squirrels think this means Timmy has taken their nuts, so they take him to the same tree and shove him in the hole where he and Goody were keeping their nuts (even though he was really too fat to get in). Goody doesn t know what happened to him and is worried. She finds out, through the help of a chipmunk s wife, that he is with the chipmunk in the tree and the chipmunk has been takin care of Timmy. Goody goes to the tree and is relieved to find Timmy safe. Timmy gets out of the tree weeks later when the wind blows the top off and he is able to escape. Have the student complete the written assignment, due Monday. : Both Mrs. Tittlemouse and Timmy Tiptoes have too much of something. Mrs. Tittlemouse has a house that s too big for her to keep tidy and keep track of everything (and everyone!) and Timmy Tiptoes has too many acorns. Compare how each of these characters have too much and how it negatively affects them. Week 4 Grade Book Include (A) Points Earned (B) Possible Points A/B x100 =% (C) Week 4 Average Add up column C & divide by number of included assignments = % PC9
COURSE PLAN WEEK 5 Book Weekly Breakdown Goals and Notes for the Week Written assignment: Congratulations! You have finished reading Peter Review Rabbit. Now you need to write a nice book report on the story. Exam Notes Student Daily Assignments Parent Daily Guidelines 1 2 Written Assignment. Work on your book report. Review your paper to make sure everything you have written supports your thesis statement, and the entire paper has a gentle flow from one supported idea to the next. Check for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Rewrite the paper neatly if you are writing it in long hand. 3 4 5 Review Exam Study for the Exam. Review all your Study Questions, the starred vocabulary, the geographical locations, and the characters. Exam. Exam Other: Other: Week 5 Grade Book Assignments Include (A) Points Earned (B) Possible Points A/B x100 =% (C) Week 5 Average Add up column C & divide by number of included assignments = % PC10
ASSIGNMENT ANSWER KEY WEEK 1 : Each of the stories this week focus on the idea of listening to and respecting your elders. Choose one of the characters from this week and explain how they did not listen to or respect their elders and describe what happens to them because of their actions. Also, describe the lesson they learn and when they learn it. Depending on which character the students choose, their written response should have the following information: WEEK 2 doesn t listen to his mother when he chooses to go into Mr. McGregor s garden. Since he didn t listen to his mother, he lost his coat and shoes and was chased by Mr. McGregor all over the garden. The lesson he learned is that he should listen to his mother and stay away from Mr. McGregor s garden. He learned his lesson after he went home and didn t feel well and was ashamed at how he lost his coat and shoes. Squirrel Nutkin was very disrespectful of Old Brown, the owl. He didn t bring Old Brown the gifts like the other squirrels did and he made fun of Old Brown. Eventually, Old Brown decided to teach him a lesson and caught Squirrel Nutkin and brought him into his house with the intention of skinning him. Squirrel Nutkin learned his lesson that you should respect your elders when he tried to escape and his tail got broken into two pieces. Benjamin Bunny goes into Mr. McGregor s garden with his cousin,, and gets caught under a basket and is trapped there for many hours. We can see from his father s reaction that this is something Benjamin Bunny wasn t supposed to do. He learned his lesson when his father punished him and takes him back home. : In The Tale of the Two Bad Mice, the mice ransack and damage the doll house and many of the dolls belongings; they even take some of the furniture for their own use. At the end of the story, the author tells us it was okay for them to do this because they paid the dolls with some money they found on the floor and Hunca Munca sweeps the inside of the dollhouse every morning before anyone is awake. Do you think what the mice did was right or wrong? Why? Do you think the money and sweeping make up for what they did or not? Why? What the mice did was very wrong. It s never okay to take something that isn t yours or to damage things that belong to someone else. Even though the mice pay for what they took and Hunca Munca cleans for the dolls, even though the dolls don t know about it, that doesn t make up for what they did. Not only is what they did wrong, but they also didn t apologize. WEEK 3 : In The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies, the young rabbits are captured by Mr. McGregor and their parents have to come and save them. Tell about a time when you were really stuck and your parents how to help you like the bunnies parents had to help them. Student answers will vary. PC11
ASSIGNMENT ANSWER KEY WEEK 4 : Both Mrs. Tittlemouse and Timmy Tiptoes have too much of something. Mrs. Tittlemouse has a house that s too big for her to keep tidy and keep track of everything (and everyone!) and Timmy Tiptoes has too many acorns. Compare how each of these characters have too much and how it negatively affects them. Mrs. Tittlemouse has too much house for her to clean and keep track of. Because of this, she has many bees in her house and she had no idea they were there. This scares her and she depends on one of her friends to scare away the bees for her. Timmy Tiptoes also has too much of something, but he has too many acorns. When he gets pushed into the tree, there are so many acorns that he gets very fat and is unable to escape from the tree. This makes Timmy sad because he wants to be with his wife and he can t get out. Eventually, a storm blows off the top of the tree and he s able to escape. Both of these characters have too much of something and they have to depend on someone or something else to help them. PC12
EXAM Grade: /72 Part I. Identify. Give a description and brief character analysis of each of these characters. (3 points each) 1. 2. Squirrel Nutkin 3. Benjamin Bunny 4. Tom Kitten 5. Jemima Puddle-duck 6. Mrs. Tittlemouse 7. Timmy Tiptoes Part II. Short Answer. Answer in complete sentences, giving as much detail as possible. (3 points each) 1. What lesson does learn from his experience in Mr. McGregor s garden? 2. What happened to Squirrel Nutkin when he was captured by Old Brown? 3. Explain what causes Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca to ruin so many of the dolls things. 4. Did Mr. Jeremy Fisher bring home fish to his friends? If not, what happened instead? 5. Why was it a bad idea for Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit to dress the kittens in their best clothes and then send them outside? What ends up happening to the kittens? 6. Why is the sly fox so nice to Jemima Puddle-duck? What does he want from her? 7. Why do Ginger and Pickles have to close their store? Part III. Essay. Beatrix Potter gives us many morals and lessons to learn through her characters. Choose one moral or lesson, explain how you see the character learn this lesson in the story, and then describe a time in your life where you learned the same lesson. The essay should be at least one full paragraph with as many examples from the story as possible. (20 pts) Part IV. Vocabulary. Use each word in a sentence. (2 points each) For extra credit, use the word in a sentence similar to the way it is used in the book. 1. wander 2. gracious 3. contrary 4. pursue 5. ponderously PC13
EXAM ANSWER KEY Part I. Identify. Give a description and brief character analysis of each of these characters. (3 points each) 1. : is a young bunny who lives with his mother and three sisters. He doesn t listen to his mother and decides to go into Mr. McGregor s garden where he loses his coat and shoes. He is nearly captured by Mr. McGregor, but manages to escape. 2. Squirrel Nutkin: Squirrel Nutkin is a poorly-behaved little squirrel who likes to tease the owl, Old Brown, on the island where the squirrels go to gather nuts. After Old Brown has had enough of Squirrel Nutkin s teasing and riddles, he captures the squirrel and intends to skin him, but Squirrel Nutkin manages to escape, though his tail is torn in two. 3. Benjamin Bunny: The cousin of, Benjamin Bunny also likes to go into Mr. McGregor s garden. He convinces Peter to go with him, even though Peter doesn t want to, and they both get trapped under a basket for several hours. Because of his poor behavior, his father punishes him severely. 4. Tom Kitten: Tom and his sisters, Mittens and Moppet, are dressed by their mother in their finest clothes to be ready for her tea guests. Their mother sends them outside to play, and the kittens lose their clothes to some puddle-ducks. 5. Jemima Puddle-duck: Jemima Puddle-duck is upset that Mrs. McGregor won t allow her to hatch her own eggs, so she decides to make a nest somewhere in the wood where she can be by herself. A sly fox offers his shed as a place for her to build her nest, but tricks her into almost becoming his dinner. Jemima is so simple, she didn t realize what was happening and was, luckily, saved by the collie and some fox-hounds. 6. Mrs. Tittlemouse: Mrs. Tittlemouse is a little mouse who lives in a large house with many rooms. She is obsessed with cleaning and is constantly picking up and mopping up after all of her guests. 7. Timmy Tiptoes: Timmy Tiptoes is a squirrel who gathers too many nuts. He gets trapped in a tree with many of his nuts and a chipmunk insists that he eat many of them. But, he becomes too fat to get out of the tree and only is able to sneak out when a storm knocks off the top part of the tree. Part II. Short Answer. Answer in complete sentences, giving as much detail as possible. (3 points each) 1. What lesson does learn from his experience in Mr. McGregor s garden? He learns that he should listen to his mother so he doesn t get in trouble. 2. What happened to Squirrel Nutkin when he was captured by Old Brown? When he was captured, Old Brown decided that he was going to skin Squirrel Nutkin, but he manages to escape. However, when he escapes, he gets his tail cut in two. 3. Explain what causes Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca to ruin so many of the dolls things. They sneak into the dolls house late at night and see a feast upon the table. But, they learn the food isn t real and they become upset. So, they decide to be naughty and take some of the dolls things because they are upset. 4. Did Mr. Jeremy Fisher bring home fish to his friends? If not, what happened instead? Mr. Jeremy Fisher was not able to bring fish home to his friends. He didn t catch any fish because he was dragged into the pond by a trout. Luckily, the trout didn t like the taste of Mr. Jeremy Fisher s coat and spat him back out. PC14
EXAM ANSWER KEY 5. Why was it a bad idea for Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit to dress the kittens in their best clothes and then send them outside? What ends up happening to the kittens? It was a bad idea for her to dress the kittens in their nice clothes because they got their clothes all dirty and then lost them to some puddle-ducks. Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit was upset with her children and locked them in their room upstairs and told her gusts that they had the measles. 6. Why is the sly fox so nice to Jemima Puddle-duck? What does he want from her? The fox wants to be nice to Jemima because he wants to stuff her and eat her. After that, he d like to eat her eggs. 7. Why do Ginger and Pickles have to close their store? Ginger and Pickles have to close their store because they allow people to buy on credit and no one pays for anything. Because of this, they don t have money to buy food for themselves to eat or to pay their taxes. Part III. Essay. Beatrix Potter gives us many morals and lessons to learn through her characters. Choose one moral or lesson, explain how you see the character learn this lesson in the story, and then describe a time in your life where you learned the same lesson. The essay should be at least one full paragraph with as many examples from the story as possible. (20 pts) The students answers will vary for this essay question. Part IV. Vocabulary. Use each word in a sentence. (2 points each) For extra credit, use the word in a sentence similar to the way it is used in the book. 1. Wander: While I sometimes like to stay on the path when I m hiking, other times I like to go off the path and wander around. 2. Gracious: It was very gracious of the girl to allow us to come to her party late. 3. Contrary: Contrary to what others might think, chocolate is actually my favorite flavor of ice cream. 4. Pursue: Once I get to college, I would like to pursue a career in medicine or acting. 5. Ponderously: Instead of jumping in with his opinion, the man waited his turn ponderously. PC15